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Solar power alters life in remote Indian villages

A man cleans panels installed at a solar plant at Meerwada village of Guna district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on June 18, 2012.

Adnan Abidi / Reuters reports -- Life in the remote Indian village of Meerwada once ground to a standstill as darkness descended. Workers downed tools, kids strained to see their school books under the faint glow of aged kerosene lamps and adults struggled to carry out the most basic of household chores. The arrival of solar power last year has changed all that. On a humid evening splashed with rain, fans whirr, children sit cross-legged to swat up on their Hindi and delighted people can actually see what they are eating and drinking.

EDITOR'S NOTE: These images were received on Aug. 1, 2012

A woman uses a battery operated torch to prepare a meal inside the kitchen of her house at Rampuriya village on June 19.

Children watch television powered by solar energy at Meerwada village on June 18.

A boy charges his mobile phone from an electric board powered by solar energy inside his house at Meerwada village on June 19.